About Michiko Ishikawa, a senior freelancer

Following Ms. Murakami from the previous issue, we interviewed a classmate of ours from college.
Ms. Ishikawa and I were in different classes, but I think we were in a seminar together in the third grade and became good friends. My memory is a little fuzzy, but...
At the exhibition,Ishikawa-san made a cube-shaped work with a big close-up of a person's face, and I was surprised when she appeared with the cube full of people's faces crammed into her car.
I wondered how she was able to drive. I don't think she was looking behind or to the side.

Profile of Michiko Ishikawa
Born in Tokyo in 1986, Ishikawa graduated from Musashino Art University's Graduate School of Art and Design with a degree in photography in 2011. After working as a staff member at the same laboratory, she became independent as a freelance photographer. She creates and presents art works based on the theme of "discomfort" she feels at any given time. On the other hand, she specializes in still-life photography of art and craft works for her clients. She is currently struggling as a mother of a child.
Awards received include: Finalist, 3rd Photography "1_WALL" (2010)

The day's virtual livestream will also be available on YouTube, so be sure to tune in!

My senior whom I admired one year older than me went to art school, and I thought, Art school sounds great!
(She praised me before I decided on a seminar.) I thought, "I want to try all kinds of things, but maybe photography is for me! I thought, "I might be good at photography!
I'm surprisingly busy every day (and then I realized I'm freelance)
I've been lucky all my life! I felt like I was lucky all the time!
I was in college for 12 years.
Motivation for creating artwork is deadlines.
Went to grad school and won a prize, which helped me understand the process of creating artwork that suited me.

Influenced by the fact that a senior whom she admired in high school went on to art school, Ishikawa-san decided to apply to art school. She enjoyed the preparatory classes for the imaging course at an art prep school, took the entrance exam, and passed with flying colors!
She did not plan to major in photography from the beginning, but went on to a photography seminar after being praised in a photography class. She gave up her job search early and decided to go to graduate school. After becoming a finalist in 1_WALL, which I applied for during graduate school, I understood the process of creating works that suited me, and I continue to create works in that style to this day.

After graduating from graduate school, she worked as a teaching assistant and research assistant in the laboratory of the Department of Imaging Arts and Sciences, and ended up spending 12 years at the university.... She then got married and became a freelance photographer. After giving birth, she has been involved in managing national art events and exhibiting in her own studio.
While she is too busy raising her child to work on her own artwork as much as she would like, the most important thing to keep her motivated is deadlines! Ishikawa-san assures us. Currently, she is working on her artwork to meet the deadline for that event, which she holds once a year.

Many of Ishikawa-san's works are installations, not just photographic exhibits, and the way she exhibits them is always different. It seems to take a long time because she plans her works thoroughly, but it is interesting just to listen to her talk about them because he also entertains us with the way she shows them.
She also talked about a service her is currently conceptualizing to digitally archive children's artwork. This is something we talked about a few years ago, and I think it will definitely be a good thing, so we want to keep moving forward with it.

As for school, she think you should go to high school. She had a lot of fun at the school festival and other events because I had friends there. Her think it is better to enter university with a purpose.
As for what you should do during your school days, you should have something you can devote yourself to, whether it is a club activity, a committee, a part-time job, or whatever. You can only spend so much time on things that don't have to generate money when you are a student. He told me that once you enter the workforce, you won't be able to take a few months off, so you might as well study abroad (if you want to).

We had some great parenting talk!

Last year, I assisted Ishikawa-san on a photo shoot as an assistant. On that day, we were shooting a work of art displayed in a newly built hospital, and I saw photographer Ishikawa come up with ideas to enhance not only the work but also the space, and devise composition and lighting to make it look better. It was the first time for me to accompany a friend on a working site, and it was a strange feeling, but I was inspired to see how she was so dependable and how quickly he completed the shoot.
She told me she's been lucky ever since he became a freelancer, and I hope he continues to be full of luck!
I look forward to hearing more about the National Art Event and other projects she has in the works!